summer berry pies

the summer berries are in the market. every box looks beautiful. i couldn’t believe that a whole quart of blueberries today was only two dollars. this is the season for berries and what better recipe to try this past week–berry pie. i found this recipe in southern living magazine and adapted it, as i only wanted to make two small pies. this recipe uses a refrigerated pie crust, but homemade would be even better. i opted for the simple way and boy, these pies were very tasty.

to make the recipe: toss together one small package of fresh whole raspberries with one quart of strawberries which have been cleaned and sliced into smaller pieces. add 1/2 cup sugar and 2 tablespoons cornstarch. mix well. then add 1/2 teaspoon almond extract.

next, unroll one package of refrigerated pie crust which has been thawed per the box directions, and cut into two crusts which will fit two small ceramic pie dishes. my dishes are le creuset. press the dough into the dishes and form neat edges of pie crust.

spoon the berry mixture into the pie dishes. next, cut decorations from the remainder of pie crust for the tops of the pies. i used a heart cutter, but a star or shell cookie cutter would be cute too.

leave some area open on the pie tops for steam to escape while the pies are baking. place the pie dishes on a foil lined baking sheet and freeze for 10 minutes.

preheat the oven to 425 degrees. remove the pies from the freezer and top with a bit of sanding sugar. place in the oven and bake for 25 minutes or until the crust is nicely browned.

enjoy with whipped cream, vanilla ice cream or just as is. so very yummy !